Mother Russia

For other uses, see Mother Russia (disambiguation).

1914 Russian poster depicting the Triple Entente – Britannia (right) and Marianne (left) in the company of Mother Russia.

Mother Russia (Russian: Россия-Матушка, transliterated as Rossiya-Matushka) is a national personification of Russia, appearing in patriotic posters, statues etc. The usage of the term "mother" in reference to a nation or culture symbolizes the "spirit of collectivity". In the former Soviet period, the term Rodina-Mat (Родина-Мать,"Mother-Homeland") was preferred, as it represented the multi-ethnic Soviet Union, and was especially used to commemorate the Great Patriotic War.

Statues

Many statues of the Motherland have been constructed, most to commemorate the Great Patriotic War. These include:

• The Motherland Calls (Russian: Родина-мать зовёт, Rodina Mat' Zovyot!) a colossal statue in Volgograd, Russia, commemorating the Battle of Stalingrad
• Mother Motherland, Kiev (Ukrainian: Батьківщина-Мати) or, and more commonly referred to as, Rodina-Mat (Russian: Родина-мать) is a monumental statue that is a part of the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Kiev.
• Mother Motherland (Saint Petersburg), a statue at the Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery, St. Petersburg, Russia
• Mother Russia (Kaliningrad), a monument in Kaliningrad, Russia
• Mother Motherland Mourning over Her Perished Sons (Russian: Родина-мать, скорбящая о погибших сыновьях), Minsk, Belarus commemorating the dead in Afghanistan
• Mother Motherland (Naberezhnye Chelny), a monument in Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia
• Mother Motherland (Pavlovsk), a memorial complex, Pavlovsk, Russia

See also

• Mat Zemlya
• Mokosh, whom Figes sees as a source of the "Mother Russia" myth